Homo helmei is described as 'archaic' Homo sapien, living 260,000 years ago. The single partial skull was discovered in 1932 by Professor T.F. Dreyer at the Florisbad site near Bloemfontein in South Africa. The 'Florisbad Skull' was classified as Homo helmei to mark its distinctiveness from other fossil Homo sapiens. It may be an intermediate form between Homo heidelbergensis and Homo sapiens [Brink 1988]. The skull consists of frontal and parietal pieces and an incomplete left side of the face (Conroy, 1997).

HOMO HELMEI

HOMO HELMEI

Genus:

Homo

Species:

Homo helmei

Other Names:

Florisbad Skull

Time Period:

260,000 years ago

Characteristics:

Tool Maker, Large Brain

Fossil Evidence:

Florisbad Skull, Bloemfontein, South Africa

HOMO HELMEI

Homo helmei was 'beetle-browed' [sullen or unfriendly in appearance], the same size as us, and with an average brain volume slightly larger than ours at 1,400 cm3. They represented the plateau as far as dramatic brain growth was concerned. They were also associated with the start of one of the most important revolutions in human technology, known as the Middle Palaeolithic. A larger and longer out-of-Africa movement, during a warm period, saw Homo helmei spreading throughout Eurasia 250,000 years ago [Oppenheimer 2003].